Do Citizen Terrorists Have Rights?

Yesterday at Northwestern University in front of students from their prestigious law school Attorney General Eric Holder responded to critics of the decision to kill American born Al-Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki was living in Yemen, traveling with an armed convoy of known terrorists when a missile fired from an unmanned drone struck and killed him and much of the group he was traveling with. The most vocal critics of the killing include congress members Dennis Kucinich a Democrat from Ohio’s 9th district, and Representative of Texas District 14 and Republican Candidate for the 2012 Presidential nomination Ron Paul. Each fancies themselves strict constitutional constructionists. Those who oppose the move do so on the grounds that all natural born American citizens are entitled to due process under the 5th Amendment of the constitution which I find laughable.

Anwar Al-Awlaki used his knowledge of multiple languages and the internet as recruiting tools and rise to the top of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Once at the helm of the organization Al-Alawki made it clear that he intended to carry out terrorist attacks against the United States not only in his words, but also by his actions. He is thought to be the mastermind who funded the Nigerian born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab more popularly known as the “underwear bomber” who tried to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009. Al-Alawki is also credited with a bomb plot aimed at Jewish Synagogues in suburban Chicago in which explosive packages disguised as printer toner cartridges were sent by UPS cargo planes and intercepted before they could make it to their destination. By any stretch of the terms, Al-Awlaki’s ambitions amount to Acts of War against the United States. So, in any estimation he got what was coming to him.

While each of us does have a right to due process, when you openly declare war on America and renounce you citizenship you no longer have the same rights we all enjoy. The Constitution is a social contract signed and subscribed to by two parties; the government and the people. Just as the government is allowed to operate only if they respect the rights of the people, we the people are entitled to our rights only so long as we respect the rights of others. Otherwise you go to prison where your rights are suspended or restricted. Due process only applies to civil and criminal actions, and not the acts of war Committed by Al-Queda in the Arabian Peninsula. It was originally intended to keep people from being imprisoned without charges and known terms of punishment, but has been expanded over the years to include the protection of all our rights as citizens.

While the President did not get direct permission from Congress to target Mr. Al-Awlaki, a number of House Armed Services Committee meetings were held on the issue. As commander in chief it’s seemingly within the President’s own discretion to determine what constitutes an act of aggression that calls for military force in response. The War Powers Act of 1973 allows the President to take action on foreign soil for up to 60 days without a declaration of war issued by the Congress. As this was a single strike operation carried out in coordination with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in just a matter of minutes there are no jurisdictional issues to deal with in this argument, and the decision to go ahead with the killing of Al-Awlaki certainly falls under the purview of the War Powers Act.

Read more: http://www.eveningtribune.com/community/blogs/politifrick_blog/x734185746/Do-Citizen-Terrorists-Have-Rights